Aemon
"So, Aemon. He's, uh, well, he's something." "He's insane." "That would be the thing." -Charon and Arannis Identity Folk: Kalashtar Fealty: The Spire Trade: Wizard of the Spire Familiar: Bert History Aemon was a young man of Neverwinter when the Empire of Bael Turath was first formed. His soul was bonded to a Quori before Neverwinter was inducted into the Empire, and so he was a known practitioner of magic when the Imperials were looking for recruits to send to the Spire. Aemon was an abysmal apprentice wizard, and Lakashtari, Wizard of the Spire, very nearly sent him away many times. However, Aemon had something that Lakashtari wanted in an apprentice. His power was greater than any hopeful she had ever seen, and may have rivaled her own. In one last attempt to tap this potential, Lakashtari arranged for a tournament between hopefuls, to find the fastest, strongest, and wisest. She promised that the victor would take private lessons from her, and succeed her as Wizard of the Spire. Despite powerful competition, Aemon blundered his way to the final contest. His rival, a cunning Genasi named Albert, was heavily favored to win. Lakashtari revealed that the final contest was a duel to the death. Before the bell was rung, Aemon fled. Albert pursued him throughout the Spire, casting spells far beyond Aemon's ability. That was, until Aemon attempted to conjur a beast to distract Albert, and accidentally turned Albert into a rabbit. Lakashtari was pleased with the outcome, and declared Aemon the winner. She also declared that Albert, still possessed of his mind, be Aemon's familiar. For years, Lakashtari taught Aemon the most complicated and powerful spells, and he attempted to learn them with varying degrees of success. He was, on occasion, sent to assist the Emperor with various tasks that required a wizard's touch, as Lakashtari never left the Spire. One such task was to form a Way to Athas, so that Alec Quinn, Count Grodd, Gor, Mariel, and Mariz Kad could fan the flames of the Kobold Rebellion. He also formed the return Way, and shortly after, he attempted a Way to the Feywild, but an unexplained failure instead took the Heroes of Baldur's Gate to Shadowfell. By the War of Yunith, many thousands of years later, Aemon had grown blind and quite mad. He lived in a smaller, floating Spire in Yunith, just to the northeast of Castle Shanairra. R'Dajee Marr, Alryn, and Morgnan, three Crimson Crows, visited Aemon to ask that he teleport them to a ship bound for Castle Pelaios. Aemon agreed, but mercenaries hired by Lord Leucis Pelaios attempted to delay them. While Aemon worked the ritual, the three heroes fought the mercenaries and, in the course of the battle, discovered that Aemon was experimenting on rabbits. Before they could ask him why, he teleported them to the ship. A few months later, the heroes returned, asking Aemon to teleport them inside Castle Shanairra so that they could open the gates, allowing the military might of the Ezhelya Pact to liberate the castle from the occupying forces of the Pelaios Treaty. Aemon refused to help them until they removed a particularly rude Goliath that Lord Leucis had sent to prevent Aemon from interfering. The heroes persuaded the Goliath to leave, and Aemon helped them. In the years that followed, Aemon tutored Morgnan in the ways of wizardry, often tasking him with watching the rabbits. Two centuries later, the Knights of Morgnan called Arannis, Biri, Pakwuk, and Twitterman, were journeying in the caverns beneath the city of Ascalon when they found Aemon. The blind wizard informed them that he lived in those caverns along with his wife, a crazed woman preaching about coming doom in the Ascalon marketplace. Aemon also mentioned that a few of his experiments had gotten loose, and that if the heroes helped him, he would grant them gifts to aid in their quest. After the heroes did so, he gave Arannis a living rabbit satchel and living rabbit slippers, while Pakwuk received a living rabbit staff. Aemon also summoned Charon and Nexus from the Arena of Chains to accompany them. Later, Arannis summoned Aemon, hoping that he would help them make a good decision about the fates of many innocent lives. Aemon only answered in mad riddles, and this did not enlighten the heroes. However, the Relluk Pakwuk asked Aemon if he could be made into a living man. Aemon obliged, by turning him into a rabbit anumi, and then teleporting to his underground home. Category:Character Category:Wizard of the Spire Category:War of Ruin Category:Oathkeepers of Yunith Category:Traitors of Io Category:Godhunters